Introduction

The claim is often made by non-believers that there is no evidence of any kind of
spiritual reality. The Bible describes the spiritual realm as consisting of both good and
evil, with non-corporeal spiritual beings influencing the spiritual component of our
nature. Other pages on this site examine evidence for the
reality of answered prayer and
religious activity improving health and extending
longevity (evidence for the existence of a
benevolent Spiritual Being). This page examines the evidence for the existence of the evil
spiritual realm.

The biblical explanation for the presence of evil

The Bible says that the presence of evil is due to the spiritual component of our
nature - something the animals do not possess. God endowed His spiritual creatures (humans
and angels) with free will to love God or oppose Him. The most powerful created being (the
angel Satan) rebelled and led one third of the angels into opposition against God. Those
humans who oppose or ignore God follow Satan into rebellion - either consciously or
unconsciously.

Human evil - to the max!

Some people blame the presence of evil on "society." However, society is composed of
individuals who make individual choices. Most the evil is committed by people who oppose
the will of society. In contrast, there are many examples of societies in the animal
kingdom, especially among the An order of mammals including man, apes, monkeys, etc., often characterized by large brains and flexible hands and feet.primates. None of these societies have the capacity for evil
that we do. We are different from all other animals on our planet - a fact that has no
scientific or evolutionary explanation.1.Look at all the evil perpetuated
within
the last century alone - 6 million Jews killed by Hitler, 40 million Russians killed by
Stalin, 2 million Cambodians killed by their own government in the 1970's, ethnic
cleansing committed by the Serbs - in addition to the hundreds of massacres committed in
virtually every nation of the world. Evil acts committed by humans are so pervasive and
extreme that their presence is not explained by childhood abuse, biochemical abnormalities
of the brain, or any other naturalistic explanation. People laugh at the explanation
"the devil made me do it." However, the reality is that those who commit these
evil acts have demonstrated a continuous, long-term rebellion to God, and extreme hatred.
All of these people, through their rebellious activities, have opened doors to the occult
for so long that they no longer have a conscience, but are ruled by hatred and demonic
influences.

A recent example - Wedgwood Baptist Church massacre

On September 17, 1999, Larry Gene Ashbrook, 47, fired several bullets from the parking
lot at the Wedgwood Baptist Church's windows. At the time, the church was filled with
participants in the 10th annual "See You at the Pole" event, sponsored by the
National Network of Youth Ministries. Youth from all over the nation gather at their
school's flag pole to make a public statement of faith, and pray for others. Following the
initial shooting, the gunman burst into the sanctuary cursing and mocking God, and began
shooting people with a 9-mm handgun. Like many people who hate God, Ashbrook chose to take
out his hatred on God's people - in this case, most of the victims were teenagers and
young adults, with three of the seven being 14 years old. At one point Ashbrook detonated
a pipe bomb inside the church. Then, a young man, Jeremiah Neitz, 19, armed only with his
faith in Christ, stepped into the church sanctuary because he heard gun shots, and said to
Ashbrook from about 5 feet away, "Sir, you don't have to be doing this."
Ashbrook cursed at Neitz and told him to shut up, but Neitz said he kept pleading as
Ashbrook fired more rounds, then gazed at him in rage and shot himself in the head.
Jeremiah Neitz's bold stand for Christ probably saved many more lives.

Another recent example - Littleton shooting

On April 20, 1999, two high school students, in a carefully planned attack, killed 12
students and one teacher and wounded 23 others before killing themselves at Columbine High
School in Littleton, Colorado. The targets of the attack were athletes and Christians.
After shooting and throwing bombs on the campus and hallways, they headed for the
cafeteria, where they continued their rampage. Then they went into the library, where they
continued shooting and throwing bombs at the students, who were attempting to hide under
desks and behind the stacks of books. Students were picked out and threatened, with many
pleading for their lives as they were gunned down.

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the
word of their testimony, and
they did not love their life even to death.
(Revelation 12:11)

Cassie Bernall - a modern Christians martyr

At one point, one of the gunmen asked if anyone believed in God. Cassie Bernall
hesitated, then answered the call, knowing what had happened to other students the killers
had talked to. She answered, "Yes, I believe in God." The gunman asked,
"Why," but shot her execution style before she could answer.2 The
gunman who shot Cassie approached another girl, Valeen Schnurr, who, when she had been
wounded had said, "Oh my God, oh my God!" The gunman said, "God!" and
asked her, "Do you really believe in God?" Having witnessed Cassie's death, she
answered, "Yes, I believe in God." The gunman asked "Why?" as he
stopped to reload. "I do believe in God and my Mom and Dad have taught me about
God." While the gunman continued to reload, she crawled under a table, where he left
her alone.3 Despite receiving nine bullet wounds, she miraculously survived and
returned home from the hospital just six days after being shot. Rachel
Joy Scott, 17, another Christian who was killed in the library, had led a weekly
prayer and Bible study group of fellow teens the past year and a half at Orchard Road
Christian Center. John Tomlin, 16, another victim, attended a Baptist church twice a week
to participate in a youth ministry. Other Christians became victims as they served Jesus
by helping others to safety. Student, Danny Rohrbough, held a door open for students to
escape, before being shot and killed by the gunmen. He could have fled to safety with the
others, but chose to demonstrate the ultimate love described by Jesus.4
Teacher, William "Dave" Sanders, stayed to help students escape from the gunfire
and was mortally wounded in doing so. With his dying breaths, he asked one of the students
to take a picture of his family out of his wallet and asked him to, "Tell my girls I
love them."

Why would Christians be willing to give up their lives so easily? It is the reality of
Jesus Christ in their lives that assures them that serving Christ is worth any price -
even death.5

The spiritual (evil) component in the gunmen's lives

Following the shooting, investigators found information on one of the gunmen's web
site. The gunmen were into a game called "Doom," which can be customized to suit
any taste (or lack thereof). Their version was designed to resemble Columbine High
School's floor plan and was described by Rabbi Abraham Cooper as "a game of
massacre." A young man who had played the gunman's version of Doom reported,
"That game was basically kill everything that moves." According to Cooper, as
the characters in Doom lay bleeding from gunshots they shouted out, "My Lord, why did
you do this to me?"6 This game manifests the extreme hatred the gunmen held for God
and those who love Him. Such a condition can be explained by the presence of the author of
hate, Satan, in the lives of these killers.

Cassie's prophetic insights - evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit

Cassie Bernall was not always a Christian. In fact, before coming to faith in Christ,
she was into witchcraft, drugs, and alcohol. However, Cassie accepted Jesus as Lord and
Savior on a church retreat for teens in 1997, and was delivered from her addictions.

The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the martyr Cassie Bernall is evidenced in her writings and conversations immediately prior to her
death. Cassie's younger brother, Chris, found a prophetic poem the night of her death that
she had written the previous Sunday. Cassie wrote:

"Now I have given up on everything else -- I have found it
to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought
him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die
with him. So, whatever it takes I will be one who lives in the fresh newness
of life of those who are alive from the dead." [emphasis added]

Shortly before the shooting, Cassie talked about death to her mother. "I don't
know how we got on the topic, but Cassie said to me, 'Mom, it would be OK if I died.' She
said, 'I'd be in a better place, and you know where I'd be.'" God has in the past
talked to humans7 and he still does to those who have committed to following
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.